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We will begin with a quiz.
Question 1. For several summers, mathematics and science faculty from a research university provided a professional development institute on campus to schoolteachers in a project designed to enhance teacher content knowledge. Participants were asked to sum up their experience. A set of respondents described the time as “invigorating,” “positive,” “most rewarding,” and “enlightening.” One amplified: “It pushes me in new directions content-wise and pedagogically. It’s been fun—challenges me.” Another said, “I am grateful for this. … I am a big learner in the process.”
Which group of participants replied in such upbeat terms about their experience?
A) K–12 teachers
B) University mathematics and science faculty
Question 2. For several summers, mathematics and science faculty from a research university provided a professional development institute on campus to teachers. Teacher participants were asked if math and science faculty helped them more in terms of content or pedagogical knowledge.
In general, which option did teacher respondents select?
A) Content knowledge
B) Pedagogical knowledge
Xiaodong Zhang is a senior study director at Westat, a social science research organization in Maryland. He is the principal investigator of the Effect of STEM Faculty Engagement in MSP [the Math and Science Partnership]—A Longitudinal Perspective. As a research and evaluation methodologist, his research covers elementary, secondary, and postsecondary education in the areas of reading, mathematics, and science learning; teacher preparation and compensation; assessment and accountability; and large-scale system educational reforms. Joseph McInerney is a senior researcher in Westat’s Education Studies Group. For this research into STEM faculty engagement with teachers, he served as survey designer, protocol developer, site visitor, and report writer. Previous to joining Westat, he was an award-winning classroom teacher (Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching), curriculum designer, and recipient of an Einstein Fellowship at the National Science Foundation (1998–2002). Joy Frechtling is a Westat vice president and associate director of Westat’s Education Studies Group. An expert in logic modeling methods, which connect theory with implementation and outcomes in evaluative research, she directs a broad range of education research projects for state and federal agencies, primarily evaluations of large-scale educational programs. She was a site visitor on this project.
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